Low End Mac Reader Specials
TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how
to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full
Tilt Poker Mac.
Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.
I Love This Quadra!
Eric McCann - 2002.02.11
My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your submission to Dan Knight .
Yet another "oh, cool" moment happened today.
I run a hobby website - nothing fancy, mostly scale models, decal reviews, tips and techniques. This website is one of the reasons I still have my HP Pavilion 4453 running Windows.
First, the program I like to use, LiquidFX, is only available for Window. Not a big deal, as I don't use WYSIWYG editors; I prefer text. BBEdit on the Mac is growing on me, and on occasion I'll boot into BeOS on the PC and use CoolCat.
The camera's the other reason I use Windows. If it were an Apple product, it might qualify as a Road Apple, but just barely. I use a Polaroid PDC 640. It's got decent resolution and is easy to use. It's got problems dealing with the dark - a beautifully lit up church in the old neighborhood, maybe two blocks away, never got photographed.
The problem with it is that it uses the PC's serial port.
If I'd bought a camera just six months later, it'd be using USB. Ah well. Either way, in the Windows world, using this camera requires loading special software - a TWAIN driver, specifically, and I can't even use it in NT - it's only available for Windows 95 and 98.
Fortunately, it's recognized natively in BeOS, and Be's Camera app is perfectly happy with it. Slow, but happy.
Either way, though, it's been hampering my migration to Mac. I can get a USB card reader (it uses the wafer-thin Smart Media cards) and a USB card for my Power Mac - when the money comes in - but I wanted to do this on the cheap. (Note that the card plus reader would probably total $50-60 - not bad, but still.)
Well, not too long ago (thanks to the LEM Swap list) I found myself with a pile of Macs - everything from an SE to some 7100/80s. In this pile I found a Quadra 840AV with those wonderful RCA and S-video in and out jacks.
Today I found my camera's out-to-TV RCA cable. It works beautifully with the 840AV.
The setup is this - I hook the camera up to its external power brick (to save the batteries, rechargeable or not). I then have two options, the camera-to-serial connection to work with the PC, or a camera-to-RCA-jack connection, normally to work with a TV or VCR.
Using the second jack, I hook it up to the Quadra 840AV and fire up the Apple Video Player. All I need to do then is run it like a slideshow, using the camera. I can save the "slideshow" as a movie or freeze and capture individual frames (pictures) with the video controls.
The only thing I need to find out now is if there are any other (preferably shareware or freeware) programs that can take this input directly, and allow me to save it in JPEG or GIF format. I want to be able to do this in as few steps as possible. If anyone has any suggestions, please email me.
No, it's not "drag-and-drop" easy, but it's a way of using the camera (and protecting my investment in it) that Polaroid never thought of.
I love this Quadra!
UPDATE: Several readers have suggested GraphicConverter for cropping and editing screen shots (among other things) and Cameraid as a program that will work with the Agfa camera.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
Recent My Turn articles
- Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18. When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
- 'That's Not a Computer', 07.30. Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
- Upgrading a Digital Audio G4 to work better in Leopard, 06.02. In its original configuration, the dual 533 MHz Power Mac G4 was slow with Mac OS X 10.5, but add the right upgrades, and it runs Leopard quite nicely.
- My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28. The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
- More in the My Turn index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Mac IIfx, Mar. 1990 - This 'wicked fast' 40 MHz Mac trumped the 33 MHz DOS world.
- Group of the Day: Mac mini List is for anyone using or contemplating a Mac mini
- March 19 in LEM history: 90: Mac IIfx - 99: Fool me twice? - 01: Add FireWire, USB to older Macs - Time to replace your iMac? - 02: The Mac Challenge - Installing Linux on a low-end Mac - 03: Value of the Lombard PowerBook - Your portable should have WiFi - PowerBook 1400 upgrades - 04: The video iPod - 07: Troubleshooting an iMac - 08: Intel Mac mini value
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Could iPad Replace the Mac?, Mac Sales Up in 2010, Avoiding Windows 7 'Whenever Possible', and More, Mac News Review, 03.19. Also why your next Mac may be an iPad, science blogger abandons Apple, the benefits of standing while working, and more.
- The Mobile System Stampede, Lithium Battery That Can't Explode, Affordable SSD Options, and More, The 'Book Review, 03.19. Also June 2007 MacBook Pro external display issue, laptop stands, 1 TB ultraportable hard drive, Mini DisplayPort/HDMI adapter, and more.
- CardBus WiFi, the Shiira Browser, Ridding the Web of Flash, and Macs vs. PCs, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Mac longevity, Shiira speed, ambidextrous Mac and Windows use, and how Flash benefits Apple.
- How to Zoom Your Browser for a More Readable Web, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 03.18. Instructions for zooming text and pages in Safari, Firefox, Camino, and Opera.
- How Ad Blocking Hurts Your Favorite Websites, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Ad income keeps the Web free. Blocking online ads hurts your favorite websites.
- Taking Apart the 12" PowerBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 03.17. There are a lot of steps involved in disassembling a 12" PowerBook. Proceed with caution.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Intel iMac Deals, 03.17. Used 17" from $600; 20" from $750; 24" from $825; refurb 21.5" nVidia, $999; new, $1,099; refurb Radeon, $1,299; new, $1,399; refurb 27" 3.06, $1,499; more.
- Best G5 iMac Deals, 03.17. 17" 2.0 GHz, $380; 1.9 GHz iSight, $479 shipped; 20" 1.8 GHz, $509 shipped; 2.1 GHz iSight, $549 shipped.
- Best Time Capsule Deals, 03.17. Close-out 500 GB, $140; new 1 TB, $279; used 2 TB simultaneous dual-band, $400; new, $455. Shipping included.
- Best iPad Deals, 03.16. 16 GB iPad, $499; 32 GB, $599; 64 GB, $699; 16 GB with 3G, $629; 32 GB 3G, $729; 64 GB 3G, $829. Free ground shipping.
- Best iPod classic Deals, 03.12. Used 20 GB, $119; 40 GB, $139; 60 GB, $159; 30 GB video, $129; 60 GB, $159; 80 GB, $169; refurb 120 GB, $189; new, $214; 160 GB, $228 shipped.
- Best G3 iBook and AirPort Card Deals, 03.12. 366 MHz 12" clamshell, $89; 466, $125; 500 white CD, $100; 600, $199; 800 Combo, $239; 14" 900, $225.
- Best Xserve Deals, 03.12. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $499; 2.0 dual G5, $599; 2.3, $749; refurb 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,499; new, $2,699; 8-core, $3,449; refurb 2.66, $4,299; new, $4,799; more.
- More deals in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com
